Chathams/ Tuuta

[Kelburn]

I have come to about mid-way through my NZCI project and thouht that i'd give you a few screenies.
Note: With the two coloured buildings, I am trying to sort out the textures.

[ardypilot]

Looking good Kelburn- is that fs2002 or fs2004 scenery?

[Dreamweaver]

Hey guys I have a Chathams scenery somewhere on disc need to speak to the author before I upload it anywhere though. It was a quite a large project he did for one of the Vatsim people.

[Kelburn]

Looking good Kelburn- is that fs2002 or fs2004 scenery?

To answer your question, it should work on either and hopefully FSX but will need to get my friend to test it out first.

Hey guys I have a Chathams scenery somewhere on disc need to speak to the author before I upload it anywhere though. It was a quite a large project he did for one of the Vatsim people.

Do you think that you could post any screenshots?

[captain_bazza]

My realworld Chatham flights were in 1968, in the SAFE BF170, when the landing strip was at Te Hapupu, at the top right of the island. Part of my job (NZPO's ZLC radio station) at Tuku Road, Waitangi, was aircraft comms (VHF/HF) and working (morse) to ZKLF/Musick Point air radio station in Auckland. The VHF was 118.1 (?) and the HF was in the 3 mHz air radio band. The two BF's used on the Chathams run were Lima Tango and Romeo Kilo, the aircraft names beginning "Merchant.......?" Flight time from Wellington was approx 3.5 hours. Refreshments served were superior to NAC's cheese and crackers offerings.

Cheers
Bazza

PS At that time a Cessna 150( ? ) and Bell helicopter (like the M*A*S*H version) were also operating locally. While I was there both were airlifted out in the hold of a BF, and I went along for the ride to the airstrip that day with the met observer. The chopper was used for unloading mesh baskets of crayfish off the fishing boats, which delivered the basket direct to the factory onshore, a process that took only a few minutes flying time. The cost of this was more than offset by the huge prices that the crays were fetching during the crayfish boomdays. (Rumoured $1,000 per ton in 1968 $.)

PPS, I landed on the Chathams on the Tuesday before the infamous Wahine Storm, Wednesday, 10th April 1968, and we didn't see any photos of the disaster until the first newspapers arrived on the following Tuesday's flight.

Cheers
Bazza

[Ian Warren]

Hey Cap Bazza , Did you have any photos from the era , to post and show all the way it was

Musick Point

Named after Capt Edward Musick ? maybe

[ardypilot]

Musick Point air radio station in Auckland

Thats just down the end of the road I live off:

Name after Capt Edward Musick

Yes, I think so as there is also "Captain Musik Air Scouts" (run by my mates dad) just around the corner.

[captain_bazza]

Sorry, I don't have any photos from my Chathams stay, I never took a camera with me! I was thinking about ordering an Asahi Pentax SSR camera just before I left the island, but I left there a few months earlier than anticipated, so I never (ever) got the camera. Later, I bought a similar quality SSR, a Miranda Sensorex, which coupled with the venerable Kodochrome 2 slide film, turned out some great results.

Te Hapupu was very basic, just a long grassed strip, which was prone to bog in certain parts, sometimes causing a taxying BF to bog a wheel! The strip was fully fenced off, entry was through a gate at the SW end. There was a met/vhf coms hut (basic) at the S end. Another basic hut, about midway up the W side, was the terminal building. Amenities were sparse, indeed. There were drums of avfuel available, not sure if the BF refuelled there, I expect it was for emergency use. The BFs must have had enough fuel to fly from Wn to Chats, circle for 20 mins (no suitable alternative landing strips there) return to Wn, circle for 20 mins, then enough reserved to fly to an alternative airport.

In 1968, all SAFE flights to Chats left Wellington. In later years, Christchurch was used alternatively. I think there were twice weekly flights, Tues from Wn and Fri from Ch. Occasionally, there were freight only flights. Of course, as you probably know, the BF used passenger capsules, in two sizes, which depended on pax/cargo loading. Processed craymeat was airlifted, and some went by the monthly ship (MV Holmdale, ex Lyttelton.

The closest airport to Chats is actually Napier, although you'd never realise it looking at a standard mercator map.

Cheers Bazza

[captain_bazza]

Yes, the building at Musick Point was indeed a memorial to Captain Edwin Musick and his crew, who were lost when their flyboat exploded in midair near Samoa. The Sikorski FB had fuel problems and was thought fuel vapour caused the explosion, there were no survivors.

The building was shared between the CAA coms (ZKLF) and the NZPO coast radio station (ZLD). ZLD/Auckland radio monitored 500 k/cs morse, and 2182/4125 k/cs r/t. I've only ever visited Auckland once, during the mid 70's and my only view of ZLD was from a tourist launch during a harbour cruise. The weather was crappy and we were lucky to see the station clearly up on Musick Point headland. We did go UNDER the harbour bridge, but never got OVER it.

NZPO coast radio stations were: ZLB/Awarua radio (where I worked), ZLC/Chatham Islands radio (ditto: '68), ZLW/Wellington radio, ZLD/Auckland radio, are all history now since the early '90s. Gone, are ZMV/Milford Sound (radiotelegraph and toll/rt*), ZLG/Haast (radiotelegraph*) and ZLQ/Scott Base (radiotelegraph*) by the late sixties. [*via ZLB]

TEAL flyingboats also worked ZLB at some stage, but well before my time.

Awarua radio was situated approx 8.5 miles south of Invercargill, on the In/Bluff road.

Cheers and thanks for jogging my memories.


Bazza B)